The Awards Season Nears Its End With Critics Choice, DGA, and PGA Awards
/The Oscars are less than a month away, and over the weekend we got some hints as to who is likely to bring home this season's top industry prize.
On Friday, February 7, Chelsea Handler hosted the much-delayed 30th annual Critics Choice Awards. The Los Angeles wildfires caused the originally scheduled January 12 event to be rescheduled for January 26, then postponed a second time to last Friday.
Sean Baker's critically acclaimed "Anora" won the Palme d'Or at Cannes back in May, but since then it had not found a lot of luck on the awards circuit… until now. The dramedy starring Mikey Madison only took home one prize on Friday, but it was a big one — Best Picture. "Anora" is the first film to win the top prize and no other awards at the Critics Choice Awards. It was recently shut out at the Golden Globes despite garnering five nominations. It earned four nominations at the recent Gotham Awards but again came up empty handed.
The big winners in the film acting categories were no surprise, as they matched the recipients of this year's Golden Globes. Adrien Brody picked up more hardware for his leading role in the period epic "The Brutalist," and Demi Moore won another trophy for her lead role in the satirical horror flick "The Substance." Zoe Saldaña continued her winning streak, taking home the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the musical crime drama "Emilia Pérez." Kieran Culkin took home another Best Supporting Actor award for his work in the road trip dramedy "A Real Pain."
Additionally, 21-year-old Maisy Stella won in the category Best Young Actor/Actress for her performance in the coming-of-age film "My Old Ass," and the cast of the papal drama "Conclave" was crowned Best Acting Ensemble.
See the full list of Critics Choice Awards winners
In addition to Moore's big win, "The Substance" also earned Coralie Fargeat a statuette for Best Original Screenplay, and the film's hair and makeup team triumphed as well. "Emilia Pérez" took home two additional awards aside from Saldaña's — Best Foreign Language Film and Best Song for "El Mal." "A Real Pain" earned a second award, tying "Deadpool & Wolverine" for Best Comedy. "Conclave" beat the competition in the category Best Adapted Screenplay, the statuette going to Peter Straughan.
Fan favorite and critical darling "Wicked" garnered three awards, including the coveted Best Director honor for Jon M. Chu, who was notably snubbed in this year's Oscar nominations. The film also won for Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Luca Guadagnino's sports drama "Challengers" won awards for its editing as well as its score by frequent winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Reznor and Ross have now won three awards out of six nominations in the category, previously winning for 2010's "The Social Network" and 2020's "Soul." The film was notably shut out of any Oscar nominations this season.
In the television categories, FX's historical drama "Shōgun" continued to rake in the industry's top awards, winning for Best Drama Series, Best Actor in a Drama Series for recent Golden Globe and Emmy winner Hiroyuki Sanada, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Moeka Hoshi, and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Golden Globe winner Tadanobu Asano. The sole winner in the drama category not associated with "Shōgun" was Kathy Bates, who won Best Actress in a Drama Series for CBS's "Matlock" reboot.
HBO/Max's "Hacks" dominated the comedy categories, winning Best Comedy Series, Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Jean Smart, and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hannah Einbinder. Adam Brody took home the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as rabbi Noah Roklov in Netflix's "Nobody Wants This," while Michael Urie won in the category Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the Apple TV+ series "Shrinking."
Netflix's "Baby Reindeer" and HBO's "The Penguin" each won two prizes in the Limited Series or Movie Made for Television categories. "Baby Reindeer" earned the top award Best Limited Series and another trophy for supporting actress Jessica Gunning. Cristin Milioti and recent Golden Globe winner Colin Farrell won for their lead roles in "The Penguin."
Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards
On Saturday, February 8, Judd Apatow hosted the 77th annual DGA Awards, marking his sixth time hosting the event since 2018. "Anora" director Sean Baker won another big industry honor the day after his film won the top prize at the Critics Choice Awards. Baker beat the competition in the most coveted category of the night — Feature Film Director. This makes him the frontrunner for Best Director at the Oscars, an honor many predicted would go to Brady Corbet for "The Brutalist." Previous DGA winners have gone on to win the Oscar all but eight times in the last 76 years.
"Nickel Boys" director RaMell Ross was honored in the category Michael Apted First-Time Feature Film Director. His film based on the 2019 novel "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead follows two Black boys sent to an abusive reform school in Florida in the 1960s. The film will compete for Best Picture at next month's Academy Awards.
See the full list of DGA Awards winners
In the television categories, "Shōgun" and "Hacks" again won in their respective drama and comedy categories. "Ripley" director Steven Zaillian took the top prize for Limited Series/TV-Movie Director. The Netflix limited series used our stages for reshoots, and we are so proud of its success!
Two-time Oscar winner Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi") earned the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award. Producer Mary Rae Thewlis ("The Americans" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent") was honored with the Robert B. Aldrich Service Award, and Thomas J. Whelan received the Frank Capra Achievement Award. Whelan served as unit production manager for 12 episodes of CBS's paranormal drama "Evil" and 22 episodes of CBS's police drama "Blue Bloods" — series filmed at Broadway Stages for their entire runs.
Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards
On Saturday, February 8, the 36th annual Producers Guild of America Awards took place in Los Angeles. Sean Baker earned his second major award of the day and third of the weekend when "Anora" won the big prize.
The film about a Brooklyn stripper who impulsively marries the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch picked up momentum just in time for next month's Oscars. The PGA has correctly predicted the Best Picture winner 26 out of the last 35 years.
See the full list of PGA Awards winners
In addition to "Anora" winning the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, other big winners were "Shōgun" earning the Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television — Drama, "Hacks" winning the Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television — Comedy, and "Baby Reindeer" honored with the David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television.
Film producer Chris Meledandri, who founded and serves as CEO of the animation studio Illumination, earned the special David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures. The award recognizes "a producer or producing team for an extraordinary body of work in motion pictures." Illumination produced all six films in the "Despicable Me" franchise, among other successes.
Taika Waititi received the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, which recognizes "a producer or producing team for their extraordinary body of work in television." Waititi produced the FX/Hulu vampire comedy "What We Do in the Shadows," HBO/Max's pirate comedy "Our Flag Means Death," and the FX/Hulu dramedy "Reservation Dogs," which he also co-created. He won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 2019's "Jo Jo Rabbit."
Producers Lynda Obst and Paula Weinstein, who both passed away last year, were honored with PGA's special Trailblazer Award. Among Obst's biggest successes were 1991's "The Fisher King," 1993's "Sleepless in Seattle," and 2014's "Interstellar." She also worked in the television industry, serving as an executive producer of several series including "Hot in Cleveland." Weinstein produced memorable films including 1989's "The Fabulous Baker Boys," 1999's "Analyze This," and 2002's "Analyze That." Her television credits include the popular Netflix series "Grace and Frankie."
Co-chair of Disney Entertainment Dana Walden won the Milestone Award, which recognizes "an individual or team who has made historic contributions to the entertainment industry."
Next up on the awards circuit are the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, scheduled to be streamed live on Netflix on Sunday, February 23. Kristen Bell will host for the second time, and two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda will receive the SAG Life Achievement Award.
The 97th annual Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 2, with Conan O'Brien covering hosting duties for the first time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) already handed out a few awards at the 15th Annual Governors Awards back in November. The late Quincy Jones and casting director Juliet Taylor earned the Academy Honorary Award. Producer Barbara Broccoli and screenwriter and producer Michael G. Wilson were presented with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. The duo are known for their work on films in the James Bond franchise. Beloved screenwriter and director Richard Curtis ("Love Actually") was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Congrats to this weekend's winners! We can't wait to see who wins next!
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